LA County deputy charged with ticket-fixing

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy has been charged with taking $1,500 in bribes to fix traffic tickets.

Edwin Tamayo was charged Thursday with nine counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice, accepting bribes and preparing false documents. He could face up to nine years and eight months in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors say Tamayo, a 13-year veteran, fixed tickets by intercepting citations before they were filed in court or removing court notices sent to a colleague who'd issued the citations.

Tamayo has been on paid leave since a Sheriff's Department investigation began in February 2013.

He was arrested Tuesday and freed on bail. His attorney, Jacob Glucksman, tells the Los Angeles Times that the deputy maintains his innocence.